by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A sweeping five-day law enforcement operation targeting online child predators led to the arrest of 205 suspects and the rescue of 115 children across the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 7.
Dubbed “Operation Restore Justice,” the multiagency effort involved the FBI’s 55 field offices and over 90 U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide. Authorities targeted individuals involved in child sex trafficking, production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, and online enticement of minors.
“These depraved human beings, if convicted, will face the maximum penalty in prison — some life,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi during a press conference. She emphasized that the operation was intended to send a clear message that those who prey on children would be aggressively pursued and prosecuted.
FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted that some of those arrested held positions of public trust, including law enforcement personnel, teachers, and other professionals. “There is no place we will not come to hunt you down,” Patel said. “There is no place we will not look for you. And there is no cage we will not put you in should you do harm to our children.”
Among those arrested were Minnesota State Trooper Jeremy Francis Plonski, who faces up to 15 years in prison for allegedly producing child pornography; Jose Alexis Valdez Sosa, a Mexican migrant accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sexual exploitation; and Linwood Barnhill, a former Washington, D.C. police officer and registered sex offender charged with sex trafficking children by force.
Bondi urged parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities to protect them from potential predators. “Your child has no right to privacy on the internet — none,” she said. “You have to monitor what your kids are doing, whether they’re playing games on the internet, on social media, or on any other websites that children and teenagers frequent. An online predator can find them.”
In a related statement, President Donald Trump emphasized the administration’s commitment to combating child exploitation, stating, “My message to every American child is simple: you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”
The crackdown is part of a broader DOJ initiative to tackle child exploitation through coordinated efforts involving state, federal, and local partners. Previous operations, including “Operation Cross Country XII” in 2022 under the Biden administration, resulted in the arrest of 85 suspected traffickers and the recovery of 121 missing children.
The DOJ continues to encourage the public to report suspected child exploitation through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline and local law enforcement agencies.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Australia’s prime minister has visited an injured man who bravely disarmed one of two gunmen held responsible for killing at least 15 people attending Hanukkah celebrations at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in what authorities have described as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.
Jewish communities worldwide are impacted by one of the deadliest terror attacks against Jews outside Israel in decades, when gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, killing 15 people, Worthy News established Monday.
Nicaraguan authorities have begun barring tourists from bringing Bibles into the country, a move that signals an intensifying crackdown on religious freedom and independent expression.
The United States has secured commitments from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany to have their leaders join U.S. President Donald Trump on a proposed “Board of Peace” tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
President Donald Trump sharply escalated pressure on Venezuela on Tuesday by designating President Nicolás Maduro’s government a foreign terrorist organization and ordering a “complete and total” blockade of sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of the country.
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that President Donald Trump may continue deploying National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., at least temporarily, blocking a lower court order that had questioned the legality of the mission.
Newly declassified FBI emails show that bureau officials believed they lacked sufficient evidence to justify the August 2022 raid on then–former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, raising new questions about the Justice Department’s role in authorizing the unprecedented search.